Texas vs. Cahill is the 25th episode of the Fifth Season on Walker, Texas Ranger. It aired on May 10, 1997.
Alex awakens to find a gun in her hand and her ex-boyfriend, Tony Seville— who is the defending attorney in her current trial— dead at her bedside, and is sent to a women's prison where she ends up contending with vengeful female inmates she prosecuted in the past, until one inmate held on trumped-up charges saves her. When Alex's father, Gordon (Rod Taylor), comes to town to defend her, he, Walker and Trivette suspect that Alex's current defendant, Lane Tillman (Robert Forster), a mob boss seeking a retrial, framed her for the crime.
Tropes seen in this episode:
- Big Bad: Lane Tillman.
- Caught on Tape / Engineered Public Confession: Lane Tillman, Alex's current defendant, is revealed to be the real murderer of his own defense attorney and wanted Alex out of the way so he can walk out of court a free man. The night of his murder, Tony came to Alex's apartment with evidence that would turn the case around before she passed out in bed, moments before Tillman killed him. Mollie Seville, Tony's sister, helps prove Alex's innocence when she finds the crime was caught on video, but not before Tillman and his men threaten her life. Walker and Trivette save her, then take the video to court, where Alex's case is ultimately dismissed and a bench warrant is out for Tillman. Cue the Fight Scene at Tillman's mansion, followed by Tillman and his men being arrested.
- Clear My/Their Name: Alex needs Walker, Trivette and her father, Gordon's help in proving that she was framed for killing Tony. Gordon agrees to defend her, while Walker and Trivette investigate. The real murderer is later proven to be her current defendant, Lane Tillman.
- Designated Girl Fight: All the more simple for Alex and her new friend, Alfre Grimes, as both are stuck in a women's prison for crimes they didn't commit. Alex has to contend with many vengeful inmates she prosecuted in year's past, until Alfre saves her.
- Frame-Up: The premise of the episode. Alex is framed for a murder she didn't commit and needs Walker, Trivette and her father's help in clearing her name. The culprit behind the murder was her current defendant, Lane Tillman.
- Girls Behind Bars: The premise of the episode has Alex being sent to a women's prison after being framed for a murder she didn't commit and has to contend with a pack of vengeful inmates she prosecuted in years' past.
- He Knows Too Much / Leave No Witnesses: Frequent tropes of the series; while both are played straight with Tony Seville, the latter is strongly subverted with his sister, Mollie. The night of the murder, Tony came to Alex's apartment with evidence that would turn the case around before she passed out in bed, moments before Tillman and his men arrive and kill him. Mollie Seville's life is in danger because she has the video containing the evidence that proves Alex's innocence. Walker and Trivette save her and take the video to court, where Alex's case is dismissed and Tillman and his men are arrested.
- Jury and Witness Tampering: Lane Tillman, seeking a retrail, would do anything to walk out of court a free man, and his only means of this is by framing Alex for killing his own defense attorney. Tillman is soon slapped with this charge, considering the murder was Caught on Tape.
- Let's Get Dangerous!: Alex and Alfre (mostly Alex) have to contend with a vengeful group of inmates while being held on trumped-up charges.
- The Murder After: What kicks off the premise of the episode.
- Only Bad Guys Call Their Lawyers: Alex, an attorney herself, speaks to the police without one when she's interrogated about her dead boyfriend. Her father, himself a lawyer, gives her a verbal Dope Slap over her stupidity.
- Papa Wolf: Gordon when he learns Alex was framed for a crime she didn't commit and agrees to defend her. Likewise, he also beat up Lane Tillman for insulting her.
- Prison Episode: Alex is sent to a women's prison where she must contend with vengeful female inmates she prosecuted in years' past, but one inmate held on trumped-up charges, Alfre Grimes, saves her. At the end of the episode, after she is freed and the real perpetrator is arrested, she enlists Gordon's help in freeing Alfre. They are successful one episode later.
- Slipping a Mickey: Tony does this to Alex so he can set up a video camera in her apartment's air-conditioning vent before he called Tillman, catching his murder on tape. The real intention was for Seville to blackmail her with incriminating photos, but Tillman double-crossed him, resulting in the murder. After the fact, Tony also mailed Mollie a key to Alex's apartment, saying if anything happens to him, she should retrieve the video of Tillman's crime.
- Special Guest: Rod Taylor as Gordon Cahill, Steven Ford as D.A. Mark Clark, Christopher Allport as Tony Seville and Robert Forster as Lane Tillman.
- Versus Title: The episode's title pretty much speaks for itself, as it involves the State of Texas pursuing charges against Alex for a murder she didn't commit.
